Inter-Agency Phoenix Forum

What is phoenix activity?

Each of the agencies involved in the forum define phoenix activity as follows:

Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)

Phoenix activity involves the systematic act of transferring assets from an indebted company that has or will be wound up, into a new corporate structure that has the same directors or company officers. As a consequence of this conduct, the directors or company officers avoid paying outstanding liabilities owed to creditors, employees and statutory bodies incurred by the company that has been wound up, while continuing the same or similar business activities using the newly established company.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

We define fraudulent phoenix activity as the evasion of tax and or superannuation guarantee liabilities through the deliberate, systematic and sometimes cyclic liquidation of related corporate trading entities.

Clean Energy Regulator (CER)

Fraudulent phoenix activity involves the deliberate transfer of control of a business from one corporate structure to another, for the purposes of evading liability or regulatory responsibilities under laws administered by the Clean Energy Regulator.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC)

Phoenix activity occurs in the fraudulent use of the corporate form - for example, when the directors of a limited liability company transfer the control of business operations from one company (the old company) to another (the new company). The new company is controlled by the same person or group of individuals. The old company is then deregistered or liquidated with the intention to:

Phoenix activity is the act of a corporate entity involved in the building and construction industry seeking to exploit the protection of administration and insolvency in order to avoid the payment of wages and other entitlements to workers employed by the entity. Generally, the entity will reappear with a new identity, but with the same individuals behind it, a similar structure, and often undertaking the same activities.

Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO)

Phoenix activity is the deliberate and systematic liquidation of a corporate trading entity with the intention to:

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